Watch Experts Explore the Wreckage of a Nuked Aircraft Carrier

An American aircraft carrier that fought in World War II and was then used as a target during postwar atomic testing has been located and explored. The carrier, sunk off the coast of San Francisco, was largely forgotten…until now.

The USS Independence was a U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier and veteran of World War II. It was the lead of its class, designed to operate fewer airplanes while being faster and more economical to build. Independence participated in several campaigns of the war in the Pacific, including the invasion of Tarawa and airstrikes against Japanese bases at Rabaul.

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After the war, the downsized U.S. Navy had no need for her. At the same time, the U.S. Navy had an urgent need to determine the effectiveness of atomic weapons on ships. It towed a number of old American and Japanese ships to Bikini Atoll, simulating a large fleet at anchorage. Then the military nuked it.

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The tests, code-named Operation Crossroads, left Independence largely destroyed but still afloat, and the hull was towed to San Francisco for decontamination. Independence was scrubbed in an attempt at decontamination at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyards, radioactive water flowing freely overboard into San Francisco Bay. In 1951, the ship was towed off the coast of San Francisco and sunk in deep water. The entire episode was one of the best examples of what not to do with nuclear weapons and nuclear contamination.

In 2009, the ship was located by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), resting under nearly a half mile of water. In April 2015, the wreck was mapped by sonar via an autonomous underwater vehicle provided by Boeing.

Now, an organization called the Ocean Exploration Trust has sent a ship, the R/V Nautilus and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to explore the Independence wreck. The team has posted several videos available for viewing at their YouTube account. In the videos the wreck, which is no longer dangerously radioactive, has become a habitat for marine invertebrates, including crabs and sea worms. A number of types of fish can also be seen, including vermillion rockfish and sculpins.

You can track the location of the Nautilushere by its AIS transponder. A live feed from the ship is currently ongoing and another ROV dive will be streamed live here, starting on Thursday, August 25th, at 2pm PST.